


fourth times a charm

by bluestrawberryiii



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, There are swear words, also uh.. romance? i tried romance, and this technically takes place in 2011 but shut up u know what i mean, i mean p5 is already modern, not cars2mademegay!verse compliant for once, not enough to make it T but just a warning if you dont like the fuck word, there it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 04:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11074206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluestrawberryiii/pseuds/bluestrawberryiii
Summary: Morgana is an overworked movie theater employee just trying to get through the week. He doesn't want to deal with some grown-ass man going in to see the same damn kid's movie every time he's on the clock.





	fourth times a charm

**Day 1:**

Morgana snuck a look at his phone lock screen: four more hours before his shift at the ticket collection stand was over. Of course, after that he had three more days of eight hour shifts, because apparently all of his coworkers just  _had_  to go on family trips at the same exact time. All Morgana had by way of family was his roommate Akira, and he was busy doing some project for his summer class; no hope of tearing him away from that and going on a trip of their own.

A couple walked up and handed him their tickets for _Green Lantern._ He fought back a smirk and told them to have a good time. Apparently these people hadn't read the reviews before planning their date. He would feel bad for them if he weren't so busy being amused by their inevitable disappointment.

Then they were gone and Morgana was once again left with nothing to do. Idly, he opened his phone and started playing Fruit Ninja. This kind of lazy weekday afternoon at the theater had made him into quite the expert, and he managed to rack up 800 points before someone else walked in.

It was a young man around Morgana’s age, with choppy bleach-blond hair and bowed out legs. He would've looked intimidating had it not been for the friendly smile he shot Morgana while handing him his ticket.

The smile Morgana gave back was a fraction less fake than it normally was. “Enjoy your movie,” he said, handing him back the ticket stub. “ _Cars 2_ is showing in Theater 2, just to your right.”

The guy smiled again and rushed down the hall.

Morgana frowned. _Cars 2?_   What was a guy his age doing watching _that?_

Not that it was Morgana’s problem. He shrugged and went back to Fruit Ninja.

 

**Day 2:**

The guy came back the next day too, right during the Friday rush. He got concessions this time, and it looked like he came with a kid: a little boy that Morgana assumed must be his younger brother.

He didn't share his popcorn with the kid, though. Kind of a jerk move, but Morgana couldn't say he wouldn't do the same.

The guy came up and handed Morgana his ticket. _Cars 2_ again. Maybe he was previewing it for his little brother yesterday? That made sense. “Enjoy your movie,” Morgana recited, handing the stub back to him. “ _Cars 2_ is showing in Theater 5, down the hall and to the left.”

Next was the kid. He didn't look much like his brother, but Morgana supposed they could be half brothers. The kid handed him the ticket, and Morgana tore it in half before handing back the stub. “Enjoy your movie. _Transformers_ is showing in Theater 7, at the back and to the left.”

Wait.

He swung around to catch the kid, but he'd already been enveloped by the crowd. Plus, now there was another couple shoving their tickets in his face. More _Green Lantern._

If that wasn't his little brother, then why the hell was that guy watching _Cars?_ For a second time, at that?

 

**Day 3:**

It was Saturday morning and Morgana felt like a zombie. But when the guy - that _fucking guy_ \- walked through the door, it was like Morgana’d been hit with a shot of espresso. As his eyes locked onto the guy, he could practically hear the Kill Bill sirens ringing in his head. What was he doing here again? What could he possibly want with _Cars 2_ three fucking times! The same movie he'd seen parents and children alike walk out of with deadened eyes, and this guy wanted _more?_

This time, he noticed Morgana. Recognition sparked in his eyes and was quickly smothered with an embarrassed flush. His walk from the theater doors, past the bathrooms, past the concessions counter, and up to the ticket collection stand felt like a year for Morgana, and probably felt like a century for the other guy.

He didn’t look Morgana in the eye this time as he handed him the ticket, not even to offer his usual easy smile. Morgana ripped the ticket in half and handed him the stub.

“I assume you remember where Theater 2 is.”

The guy ducked his head. “Yeah.” Then he sped away, disappearing into the room as fast as he could.

It was the first time Morgana had heard the guy’s voice. It was actually kind of nice.

 

**Day 4:**

Sunday marked the last day of Morgana’s workplace hell. The _Cars_ guy didn't come in during his shift, though there were two more _Green Lantern_ couples. What was worse, Morgana wondered. One guy watching a terrible movie three times, or four separate couples thinking that CG monstrosity was a good date movie? They were both pretty bad, but it did make Morgana think. What was so special about a kid’s movie about talking cars?

Once his shift was over, he decided he was going to find out. It had been a while since he’d used up his free movie anyways. After eating a quick dinner, he let himself back into the theater, crowded with families looking to catch one last movie before the week started. He would have preferred not to sit next to anyone, but the sheer number of people made that impossible. After a minute of searching for a seat as far away from screaming children as possible, he found only one acceptable seat. And in this case, ‘acceptable’ meant there was only one thing wrong with it.

As soon as he sat down, the guy next to him jumped. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He really did have a nice voice. “Dude, shut the fuck up. You can't say ‘hell’ in a theater full of kids.”

He balked. “But you just said fu… the f-word, though!”

“And?” Morgana turned away from him to face the screen. “I'm just here to watch a damn movie, okay?”

He could still feel the guy’s incredulous eyes on him as the lights turned low and the previews started rolling. “Look.” Morgana turned back to him. “Do you mind? I won't be able to focus on the movie if you keep staring at me. Unlike _some_ people, I haven't seen this movie three fucking times.”

The guy opened his mouth to retort, then closed it. Opened it a moment later, then closed it again.

“You look like a fish when you do that.”

He shut his mouth for good.

The rest of the movie was spent in a constant state of mild pain. Spy movies were one of Morgana’s favorite genres, but this one was testing his patience at every turn. It wasn't all bad, at least. Well, the movie was. But the experience wasn't completely shit: the guy next to him laughed at every corny, awful joke, and Morgana would've hated it, had the guy’s laugh not been so contagious. He found himself leaning back so he could catch better glimpses of his smile throughout the movie. The guy was so into it, it almost made the two hours Disney was stealing from Morgana worth it.

After the lights came back on, Morgana took a deep breath and turned to the guy. “What was your name again?”

He looked at Morgana like he'd grown a second nose. Or like he'd forgotten Morgana was the one next to him. “Ryuji. Why?”

Morgana shrugged, preemptive regret threatening to stop him in his tracks. “I was just thinking…” He paused, trying to remember the words he'd been trying to say. “I have, um. I've got free tickets. You know, since I work at the theater and stuff. Well, not ‘and stuff’ actually it's really just because I work here and…” _Just say it!_ “I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie together sometime.” _Too mushy. Backtrack, backtrack._ “I gotta show you a _real_ movie, since you clearly have no taste.” Yikes. That backpedal certainly got him out of mushy territory, but it also felt unnecessarily mean.

It worked though. Ryuji grinned, and in that moment, Morgana felt like the sun had risen just for him. “Sure,” Ryuji said. “How about _Green Lantern?”_

“Absolutely not.”

**Author's Note:**

> romance? *takes long drag of my vintage 1920s cigarette* never heard of her


End file.
